Three hundred Huddersfield fans who had completed a cycle ride from London for their local air ambulance service allowed Richard to do a lap of the pitch before them.

Richard said: “It was kind of them to let us go in first. We all cycled in and at the Leicester end I picked up Ellis and carried him the rest of the way.

“I couldn’t believe it, the Leicester fans all stood up and clapped us. Ellis loved it, he was wide awake and loving it. I can’t deny it brought a tear to my eye.

“It was a pretty special moment. It was the best experience of my life.”

He added: “The Huddersfield fans were really good, they clapped us as we went round the pitch and handed money over.

“After the game Huddersfield invited us in for the man of the match presentation and got us up on stage.

“They took Ellis to their hearts and they collected £750 just in the room and with donations from Leicester fans it took us to over £1,000 on the day.

“Over the past two days we’ve collected around £3,000 to £4,000, taking us to about £75,000 or £76,000 in total so far.”

On Saturday at Leicester’s final home game against Doncaster Richard will be presented with a cheque for £23,000 - £1,000 for each of the games he cycled to - from Leicester City’s Thai owners.

Richard added:”We’ve now got about 200 more followers on Twitter so I’m hoping with pledges of money we’ve had for when the rides were completed we’ll be getting close to the target.

“The nice thing is, people have been coming up and saying they can’t afford much and giving us £1 - that matters as much as a donation of £100.”

He added:“I’m not going to quit, I’ve got to keep going. I’m just relieved this stage is over. It’s been constantly tiring, keeping my body ready for the next one.

“But it’s not going to stop here, we can’t stop until a cure is found. I will be doing more challenges, but I haven’t decided on exactly what yet. I’ve got to look at some ideas and see which one has the best potential.

“It will be something different and whatever it is, it will be tough.

“The Text Ellis campaign is to be continued.”

To donate, text MECP77, followed by £1, £2, £3, £5 or £10, to 70070 or at:

3 comments

It was an amazing day and I'd like to say a massive thank you to the Leicester supports who tutted there horn and shouted good luck messages as we where cycling and especially as we cycled past them as they stood up in the away end! Truly amazing so thanks guys please still support the cause, but now the away games are done I will be doing the great north run in Sept for Ellis feel free to show your support for me by texting NDNR99 £..... To 70070. Just to point out I'm not a runner either. Thanks for the support guys